Device for repointing phonograph-needles



V. H. EMERSON.

DEVICE FOR REROINTING PHONOGRAPH NEEDLES.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 7. l9I8.

1 ,360,5 1 1 Patented Nov. 30, 1920.

INVENT R Wf/Wfimw/z Ai ATTORNEY UNITED STATES? "PATENT oF'Ficak VICTOR H. EMERSON, on NEW YORK, N. Y., AssIeNoit'ro voioE RECORDER ooMEANir,

me, on NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION on NEW Your DEVICE FOR REPOINTING. PHONOGRAPH-NEEDLES.'

ing machine for which such needles are in tended to be used.

Anobject of my invention is to provide a re-pointing device which is capableaof quickly and efliciently sharpening the end of the needle of'a talking machine, and is simple in structure and operation, so that any one, however unskilled, may easily uti lize it to obtain the desiredresults.

A further object ofmy invention is to provide a re-pointing device which can be readily applied to a talking machine and actuated by a readily accessible moving part of the latter, for example, the turn-table; and

' which also is easily dismounted and removed when the re-pointing operation is completed, thus leaving the talking machine in condition to reproduce a record without requiring restoration of any of its parts, or other readjustment.

It is well known that needles for modern I talking machines in order. to reproduce properly the sounds from which a phonographic record is derived, are required to be sharp the needle furthermore is conical in form,

and thus when new presents dull or rounded surfaces to the walls of the sound grooves with which it come in contact. 7 To further preserve the needle contacting surfaces of the sound records, they. are formed of a hard, wearresisting material. The fine rounded point of the needle itself becomes worn after use for only a short period, receiving a flat surface upon the side of the needle where the abrasion is the greatest. This flattened surface, although of very minute,

dimensions, results in forming at theeiigaging point of the reproducing needle a cutting or chisel-like edge, which if continued in usev wouldsoon destro the record with which it should be used. once such needles,

be extended for Specification of Letters Patent. Patented N 30 192() Application filed March 7, 1918. Serial No. 220,972. I

after being used a very few times, and by manyoperatorsonly once, are thrown away and new ones substituted, which not only' entails needless waste, but often through in}. adverteiice in using a damagedneedle, will seriously injure .if not actually destroy a valuable sound record; My invention therefore will beadvantageously employed to re po nt phonograph needles by workingthem in aconvenient and expeditious manner that is not only attended with an infinitesimal loss of the material of the needle, but by the restoration of the original contour, and as a result the lives "of the needles can in the following. description, taken in-con nection with the accompanying drawings forming a part of the same; and the novel features'of .my invention will be precisely defined in the appended claims.

Having reference to the drawings, which illustrate an embodiment re-pointing device, I I p I e l igure 1 is a side elevation of a re-pointing of 1 my improved device'made according to my invention; and

Fig.2is a front elevation of that one of the parts of the device by which the rea practically indefinite pointing of the needles .is-immediately-effected.

In the particular description of the em bodiment of my invention herein disclosed, I employ the numeral 1 to indicate the base or casing of a phonographortalking machine, having a suitable tone-arm 2 and a revoluble turn-table 3.

stood that this tone-arm will beof the usual The tone arm is illustrated only in part, but it is to be underconstruction, and that'it may carry a sound box with the reproducing needle held therein.

The tone arm will be mounted on the base 1 near the turn-table 3, and in such fashion that" it can swing to the required extent to permit the needle it bears to follow up the sound grooves of a tablet on the turntable 3. The turn-table will becapable of rotation by a shaft l, on which it is supported in the conventional manner, its upper face being provided with the .ceiiteringstud or pin 5. No part of thisconstruction is claimed as novel, and for that reason is not. I

deemed necessaryto be shown or otherwise set forthwith any greaterdegree of fullness than is here presented, for myiiivention is designed to be used in conjunction with any type of talking machine having a base, a turn-table and a 'center pin, as will vention comprises as essential elements; whether considered n and for themselves alonegcr in combination with a movable part of a talking machine such as the turntable 3 above mentioned, the disk 6 and a suitably supporting member such as the bar 7. The disk 6 in the form illustrated is rotatably attached to one end of the bar 7 by a screw 8, which serves as a pivot or journal upon which the disk 6 is adapted to turn. On the bar is provided a laterally extending recessed boss 9, which is adapted to fit upon and receive in the recess thereof the center pin 5. Hence, if the periphery of the disk 6 rests in contact with the upper face of the turn-table3, and the pin 5 enters the boss 9, rotation of the turn-table 3 will ro'tate' the disk about the screw 8 as an axis, if the bar The held against movement. The supporting bar; 7 is therefore in the preferred form illustrated prolonged beyond the boss 9, so that an end will'be in contact with the tone-arm 2, or some 'otherxstationary part of the talking machine or casing thereof; thereby maintaining the disk 6 and the turn-table 3 in operative relation[ in one face of the disk formed in the material thereof is an annular groove or recess10, which is preferably formed in semi-circular cross-sectional area, or more particularly designated should preferably have its outer or larger surface rounded as shown. The groove may be made of any convenient size either as to the diametral or cross-sectional dimension thereof, butin practice I have found satisfactory results with such groove from two to three inches in mean diameter, and that suchgroove 'recessed to a depth and width of from one quarter to three eighths of an inch will have a capacity for handling successfully in eX- cess of one hundred needles of the ordinary size. The groove is adapted to be covered by a closure 11 which in its simplest form maybe of metal, as shown in the drawing. Obviously other materials may be employed for this me'mber, which while subserving' the main purpose of a simple closure, might have added advantages. For example, if made of a transparent material such as celluloid, the contents could be more readily inspected in process of repointing, thereby rendering unnecessary the removal of the plate 'for the purpose. 0r for the purpose in Fig. 2 by the numeral 12, this figure showing the disk as it appears with the closure 11 removed. The groove 10 being formed concentric with theaxis of rotation of the disk ormember 6, as the latter rotates, the ends of the needles rub against the side of the g roove or recess which is farthest from the axis of rotation of 'the disk, and speedily becomes sharpened and thereby fitted for further service.

lvith'the various parts in the positions shown inFig. 1, the turn-table is supposed to be revolving in such a direction that the left side 13 moving toward the observer.

Hence the disk will be rotating; counterclockwise, when viewed upon the side having the groove 10. The needles in thegroove' 10 will preferably be placed in such position that their ends to be repointed are turned in the direction of the rotation of the disk; so that their ends to be sharpened will be engaged to the best advantage. As many needles may be placed at onetime in the groove 10 as the latter will "conveniently hold; but it is a necessary condition of operation "that the needles must not be packed in the groove 10, but should he loosely placed in same, so that they may move about in the required degree as thedisk is rotated by the turn-table 3. 7

As the disk 6 turns, the needles 12 will tend to revolve about the axis 'of rotationof the diskg'bu't on account oftheiri'nerti'a and the action of gravitation, they will not revolve at the same angular speed as the disk.

Moreover, the centrifugal force due to the rotation of the disk '6 will tend to carry the needles away from the inner side of the groove toward the side which is farthest from the screw 8 circumferentially of-the groove. Further, as the needles i are carried by the disk 6 into differentsuccessive positions, they-necessarily slide upon theirends only through a portion'of their travel and at the same time rolland turn about their longitudinal axes. foregoing actions the ends of theneedles are ground off evenly on all sides, thereby effectively re-pointing a large number at a single operation.

In consequence of the The 'endof the bar 7 Whichin'the "form illustrated has been shown prolonged be yond the boss 9 in a manner to engage the tone arm of the talkingomachine, it is obvious may engage any stationary part of the talking machine or its casing, with the same result as the tone-arm 2. Or, instead of employing the balanced type of bar 7 in which the stop arm extension is oppositely disposed relatively to the disk supporting end, a similar projection could be formed on the head of the screw 8 reaching radially sufficiently far to engage the tone arm or other stationary feature of the machine. The stop bar, in which ever form employed, serves as means for not only rotatably mounting the member 6, but also for holding the part against rotatable movement when the device is in operation, in order to impart rotation to the disk 6 by the turntable 3.

The utility of my invention will therefore be apparent. The construction is so simple that any person, however unskilled,

can use the device to re-point a considerable number of needles in a comparatively short space of time, and furthermore the operation of attaching and using the device does not injure or derange any portion of the talking machine, leaving the latter in condition to reproduce a record immediately upon the bar 7 and disk 6 having been removed.

I do not wish to be restricted'in the prac-- dicated by the general meanings of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed. Having. described my invention, what I believe to be new and desire to secure and protect by Letters Patent of the United States is l. A device for re-pointingphonographic needles, comprising a working member having a recess therein, and means for rotatably mounting said member in operative relation to a talking machine.

2. A device for re-pointing phonographic needles, comprising a working member having a recess therein, and means for rotatably carrying a closure for the groove, and the bar having a boss extendinglaterally therefrom toengage the centering stud of a talking machine and support the disk with its periphery in contact with the turn-table of said machine, so that, when the turn-table revolves, the disk will rotate, the bar being prolonged-beyond the boss thereon to engage a relatively stationary part of the talking machine and prevent translational movement of the disk when the turn-table rotates same. I

Signed at New York in the county of New York and State of New York this 16th day of February A. D. 1918.

- VICTOR H. EMERSON. 

